Peripheral Blood Flow in Normal Pregnancy

During pregnancy the mean blood flow through the hands, measured under standard conditions with the subjects supine, rose progressively from 2·7 ml./100 ml.min. to 18·1 ml. at term. The flow subsided during the puerperium, but by the sixth week it was still, at 9·1 ml., significantly elevated above the level of early pregnancy. The blood flow through the feet showed similar, though less striking, changes. The flows were somewhat higher in twin-pregnancies than in singleones. The blood flow through the forearm and calf of the leg remained little changed throughout.